Thai boy’s recovery helps to calm bird flu pandemic fears

A THAI boy tested positive for bird flu yesterday, but doctors said he was recovering and there was no sign he caught the virus from his infected father who died earlier this week, calming fears of a human pandemic.

Ronarit Benpad, seven, who was treated with anti-flu drug Tamiflu in the early stages of his infection, had recovered his appetite and his temperature had returned to normal, although he would remain under observation for two weeks, doctors said.

Ronarit’s father became Thailand’s 13th official bird flu victim when he died on Wednesday in a resurgence of the virus in east and southeast Asia which has fanned fears of the H5N1 strain mutating into a form that jumps from person to person.